Trimming mechanism attachment



Nov. 9, 1937. I w, R EAR-FY 2,098,493

Nov. 9, 1937. w. P. GEARTY TRIMMING MECHANISM ATTACHMENT Filed April 17, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 g a A pr 5 W J M 0% M d U M w 1 Patented Nov. 9, 1931 PATENT OFFICE 'mrmmmo MECHANISM ATTACHMENT William P. Gearty, Chicago, 111., assignor to Maurice Smoler, Chicago, 111.

Application April 17, 1935, Serial NO. 16,764

6 Claims.

This invention relates generally to sewing machines, and more particularly to an attachment therefor adapted for producing a pinked edge adjacent the same, which attachment may be readily applied to any of the well known sewing machines, whereby the stitching and trimming operations may be performed simultaneously.

An object of the invention is the provision of an improved trimming mechanism adapted to trim the material adjacent to the line of stitches with a predetermined design and also cut therefrom any surplus material, said mechanism being operated by direct driving means connected with the needle actuating mechanism.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved trimming mechanism adapted for ready attachment with a sewing machine having the usual stitching mechanism, said trimming and stitching mechanism being arranged for operation in unison to simultaneously sew and design trim the edges of a sewed seam, thereby doing away with the necessity of first stitching the article and then subsequently trimming the same on a separate machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pinking or scalloping trimming instrumentality adapted for ready attachment to a sewing machine already in use, said trimming instrumentality being connected to the machine so as to properly co-operate with the stitching mechanism, with the result that a practical, simple and inexpensive workable machine is provided which will operate in as simple a manner as the ordinary stitching machine and with no extra labor or cost for the trimming operation.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a trimming mechanism of the character described which may be operated by a direct drive from the top shaft of a sewing machine, whereby the trimming mechanism will operate in unison with the stitching mechanism at all times.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a trimming mechanism of the character described which may be operated from the top shaft of a sewing machine by a direct drive means connecting said top shaft with the trimming mechanism.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a trimming mechanism adapted forattachment with the sewing machine, said trimming mechanism.including a rotary cutting device connected to the top shaft of the sewing machine by direct driving mechanism, whereby said cutting device will be effective at all speeds for severing the material being stitched with an irregular design cut to prevent fraying of the fabric, said cutting device being adapted for adjustment whereby a margin of desired width may 5 be produced.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a trimming mechanism of the character described, including a pair of co-operating rotary members located one above the other, the lower member being loosely mounted for rotation with the top member, the top member being connected by direct driving mechanism with the top shaft of the machine.

A still further object of the invention is to' 15 provide an improved trimming mechanism of the character described which will be simple in construction, assembly and operation, which may be readily attached 'to any of the well known sewing machines without modifying or altering 20 the construction of the machine, and which will be highly efficient for carrying out the purposes for which it is designed.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, 25 the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. 35

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of my invention, I have illustrated in the accor'npanying drawings, a preferred embodiment thereof, from an inspection of which when considered in connection with the following description, my invention, its mode of construction, assembly and operation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood and appreciated.

Referring to the drawings in which the same characters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding or similar parts throughout the several figures of the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a sewing machine of standard construction showing an embodiment of my improved trimming mechanism associated therewith.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the same with parts thereof broken away to more clearly illustrate the trimming mechanism applied thereto;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a detail view of the rotary cutter and its co-operating roller against which the cutter presses to sever the material;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view through the forward portion of the hinged bracket supporting the cutter shaft and cutter, the latter being shown in section; and

Fig. 6 illustrates a portion of stitched material having a pinked edge provided thereon.

Referring to the drawings more particularly by characters of reference, the letter "A" designates generally a sewing machine of usual and well known construction, said machine having the base Ill, vertical trunk II, top arm 12, head 13, cloth plate i4, needle bar l5 carrying the needle l6 and presser foot mechanism ll provided with the usual lifting means therefor. The machine also has the usual top shaft I! mounted in the arm. If, the hook shaft I! mounted in the base of the machine, and on one end of which is provided the usual hook (not shown) which co-operates with the needle I for making the stitching.. There is also provided the usual feed bar and feed dog (not shown) for feeding the material, said means being connected in the usual manner to the feed driving means (not shown). The machine has the usual hand wheel 20, belt 2i and, of course, the usual bearings for the top and bottom shafts.

The mechanism so far described is well known in the art and is thus onlybriefly referred to.

The trimming mechanism forming the basis for the present invention will now be described in detail.

To the top shaft I8 disposed in the arm I2 is rigidly secured intermediate the ends'thereof, the bevel gear 25 being in mesh with a second bevel gear 26 rigidly secured to the upper end of a vertical shaft 21, which shaft extends through a bearing" provided therefor in a plate mem ber 29, which plate member is arranged to close an opening provided in the arm ,l2, through which opening access may be had to the interior of the arm If within which the bevel gears 25 and 25 are disposed.

The plate member 29 may be secured in operative position in any suitable manner such as by means of the screws 30 or the like. The said plate member has also associated therewith a suitable felt washer 3| so as to seal the said opening against the escape of lubricant provided for the bevel gears 25 and 25. In fact, in actual practice, a suitable compartment 52 is formed around said gears, said compartment having a transversely disposed plate 35 and washer 34 associated with said plate 28 forming one wall of said compartment and the bearing 35 forming the opposite wall thereof. A suitable opening 35 may be provided at the upper end of said compartment to permit the filling of theme with the proper lubricant to ensure proper operation of the bevel gears.

A suitable thrust bearing 31 is provided for the lowermost end of the vertical shaft 21, said bearing being formed in a block 38 secured to the base plate II by means of the screws 35, or in some other suitable and well known manner. The lower edge of the shaft 27 rests on a ball bearing 4| to facilitate the free rotation of the shaft. The shaft 21 will be capable of free rotary movement in a vertical plane, the rotation bdng imparted to it directly from the top shaft I 8 of the machine.

Mounted on the shaft 21 intermediate the ends thereof is a worm gear 42 which is arranged for constant meshing with a worm wheel 43, said worm wheel being rigidly secured to a shaft 44 mounted in a pair of bearing brackets 45, which brackets are secured to the base plate ill by means of the screws 45, or in some other suitable and well known manner.

To one end of the shaft 44 is rigid1y-secured a spur gear 41 disposed for constant meshing with a second spur gear 48 mounted on a shaft 49 for rotation therewith. To the other end of the shaft 49 is rigidly secured for rotation therewith a rotary design cutter 50, said cutter being secured to the end of the shaft by means of a screw 5| extending through the cutter and into the end of the shaft 49 (see Fig. 5).

The base plate I 0 has secured thereto a bracket 1 bearing 52 by means of the screws 53 passing through elongated slots 54 provided in the bracket 52. The bracket 52 is drilled to receive the shaft 55 upon which is mounted for swinging movement a relatively heavy plate member 56. This plate is provided with the ears 51 and 58 supported by the shaft 55, and at its forward end said plate member 56 is provided with a transverse passage 59 for receiving the cutter shaft 45 (see Fig. 5).

A suitable bushing 60 is mounted in one end of the passage 59 to form a bearing for the cutter shaft, the other end of said passage 59 is of reduced diameter and forms the other bearing for said shaft, as shown at 6| (see Fig. 5). Suitable collars 62 and 63 are mounted on said outter shaft 49 for properly positioning said shaft within the swinging bracket 56. The cutter 50 is arranged when in operative position adjacent to and at the side of the needle l5 and is disposed parallel therewith for trimming the stitched edges of the material being worked upon with a predetermined design. By reason of the slots 54, the position of the cutter 50 relative to the needle may be adjusted to vary the width of the trimmed edge.

The weight of the hinged bracket 56 will be effective for forcing the cutter 50 to its cutting position, and in order to resiliently support the said bracket in said cutting position; I provide a coil spring 54 disposed between the base plate I. and the underside of the swinging bracket 55.

- The spring 54 is arranged so as to surround an upstanding bolt 65, the lower end of which is secured to the base plate It and the body of which extends loosely through the hinged bracket 58. The upper end of said bolt 65 is threaded to receive a nut 66 by means of which the pressure of the cutter on the work may be readily addusted. In fact, the spring 54 may be employed for holding the cutter raised a sufllcient height to prevent the operation thereof as a trimmer when it is desired to stitch the material without trimming the same.

In order to facilitate the trimming operation of the cutter 55, I provide means for co-acting with said cutter and to freely rotate therewith with a minimum of friction as the work passes through the machine. In the embodiment illustrated, there is provided an annular ring member 51 which may be formed of hardened steel or the like, and which is disposed directly below the cutter 50 for taking the pressure of the cutter, the top surface of the ring member 51 in contact with the cutter being flush with the top surface of the cloth plate so as to form no obstruction for the free passage of the work being stitched. This annular ring member 61 is mounted on a ball bearing race 68 arranged on the periphery of a cylindrical disk 69, which disk is provided with a hollow stem 10 extending therefrom and by means of which stem the said disk is rigidly secured in a depending portion ll provided on the base plate Hi.

The stem 10 is adapted to permit the passage 'therethrough of the'hook shaft l9, said hollow cutter.

stem forming a bearing for said shaft. The hook shaft extends beyond the disk 69 with the hook thereof arranged in the usual position for cooperation with the needle for making the stitches. In other words, the ring member 61 is so arranged as to co-operate with the cutter 50 while at the same time it will not interfere with the operation of the hook in the formation of the stitches.

In order to protect the operator against injury from coming in contact with the rotary cutter, I have provided a suitable bracket 12 which is secured to the cloth plate I4 by means of a screw 13 passing through an elongated slot 13' provided within the bracket. The bracket has formed thereon a segmental guard "that is disposed in front of the lower portion of the cutter when the bracket is in operative position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings.

In order to give a more attractive and compact appearance to the trimming attachment, and also to protect the driving mechanism, I have provided a suitable casing or cover for completely enclosing the driving mechanism for the rotary Thus, as shown in the drawings in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, I provide a casing of suitable material, such as sheet metal or the like, which casing may be formed of two parts 15 and 16 having a pcripheral flange 11 formed on its lower edges by means of which it may be secured to the base plate I U by the screws 18, or in some other suitable and well known manner. When the casing is assembled in place, it will completely house the driving mechanism as shown in Fig. 1. However, if it is desired to gain access to the drivingmechanism, the same may be readily had by removing the screws 18.

In Fig. 6 I have illustrated the work that this machine is capable of doing. The reference character represents two pieces of fabric stitched together by the stitches 8|. The trimmer or cutter 50 makes the scalloped or pinked edge 82 which is useful to prevent raveling of the fabric and at the same time produces an ornamental effect.

By reason of the direct positive drive between the top shaft of the machine and the rotary cutter, there is eliminated the danger of any slippage in the cutter actuating mechanism no matter how high the speed of the needle may be. It will also be apparent that the cutter driving mechanism is arranged in such a simple and compact manner requiring only a few moving parts which will not readily get out of order and which will, therefore, be durable in operation, but which may be easily placed in operative condition should any part thereof get out of order. It will also be noted that the cutter mechanism may be attached to a sewing machine already in use without modifying or altering the construction thereof.

It is believed that my invention, its mode of construction and assembly, and many of its advantages should be readily understood from the foregoing without further description, and it should also be manifest that while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described for illustrative purposes, the structural details are nevertheless capable of wide variation within the purview of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a sewing machine having a stitching mechanism and driving means for operating it including a shaft, the combination of a rotary cutter, a shaft for said cutter, a vertical shaft connected with said first mentioned shaft and with the cutter shaft for rotating the cutter, a hook carrying shaft, and a freely rotatable annular ring member surrounding said hook shaft and co-operating with the rotary cuter.

2. In a sewing machine having a stitching mechanism and driving means for operating it including a shaft, a hook carrying shaft, a rotary cutter, a freely rotatable annular ring member cooperating with the rotary cutter, means for supporting said annular ring membensaid last mentioned means forming a bearing for said hook carrying shaft, and means including a plurality of gears connecting said first mentioned shaft with said cutter for rotating the same.

3. In a sewing machine having a stitching mechanism and driving means for operating it including a shaft, a rotary cutter, a shaft therefor, means for supporting said cutter shaft, a vertical shaft connected with said first mentioned shaft, means connecting said vertical shaft with said cutter shaft for rotating it, said last mentioned means including a worm gear mounted on said vertical shaft, a worm wheel in mesh with said worm gear, a shaft for said worm wheel, and a pair of meshing spur gearsone of which is carried by said worm wheel shaft and the other one ofawhich is carried by said cutter shaft. 4. In a sewingmachine having a base plate, a top arm and. a. shaft in said arm, a pair of cooperating ,rotary members located one above the other adjacent to the needle of the machine, one supported above and the other below the base plate, the lower member being loosely mounted for rotation with the top member, and means for rotating the top member including a vertical shaft connected with said top shaft and a plurality of gears connecting said vertical shaft with said top member for rotating the same.

5. In a sewing machine having a base plate, a top arm, and a shaft in said arm, a trimming at-' tachment having a rotary cutter and a shaft therefor, a vertical shaft connected with said top shaft, a bearing for the lower end of said vertical shaft fixedly secured to said base plate, a worm gear carried by said vertical shaft in constant mesh with a worm Wheel mounted on a shaft disposed in bearing brackets secured to said base plate, a spur gear carried by the worm wheel shaft in constant mesh with a spur gear carried by said cutter shaft, whereby said cutter will have a rotary movement imparted thereto directly from the top shaft.

6. In a sewing machine having a base, a top arm and a shaft therein, the combination of a trimming attachment including a rotary cutter located adjacent to the needle of the machine for trimming the stitched edges of the work with a predetermined design, a shaft for said cutter, a hingedly supported bracket for said shaft, said hingedly supported bracket exerting pressure on shaft in mesh with a second spur gear carried on a shaft supported in bearing brackets secured to the base, a worm wheel on said last mentioned shaft in constant mesh with a worm disposed .on a vertical shaft, a bearing for the lower end of said vertical shaft secured to said base, a bevel gear carried at the upper end of said vertical shaft in constant mesh with a bevel gear provided on said shaft in said top arm, whereby the rotary movement of said top shaft will be imparted to said cutter.

WILLIAM P. GEARTY. 

